A pillow sham generally refers to an ornamental covering for a bed pillow. In recent years, the popularity of pillow shams has increased. For instance, it is now popular for comforters to be sold in combination with matching pillow shams and curtains in order to tie the decorative features of a bedroom together.
Split back pillow shams generally include a face fabric attached to two overlapping plies of backing fabric. A pillow can be inserted and removed from the sham through an opening located where the two plies of backing fabric overlap. Because the plies of fabric overlap, the pillow remains secured within the sham.
Currently, split back pillow shams are made in several separate steps. For instance, typically the face fabric and the two overlapping backing fabrics are first cut to an appropriate size. Once cut, each of the two backing fabrics are hemmed along an edge where the fabrics are intended to overlap. Next, the three fabric pieces are assembled and sewn together. Once sewn, the sham is then turned right side out and further enhanced if desired.
The above process is typically done manually. Specifically, each step is usually done separately by an individual working at a cutting and sewing station.
Due to the amount of time and expense involved in producing pillow shams according to the above process, it would be desirable if a machine could be developed that could automatically form pillow shams from one or more rolls of material.